


The Waning Moon

by Sapphire Snowflake (annie15)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Draco Malfoy in the Muggle World, Dracoinamugglemagazine, F/M, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Healer Hermione Granger, Not Epilogue Compliant, Redeemed Draco Malfoy, Willaddmoretagsasstoryprogresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-05-15 07:43:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14786322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annie15/pseuds/Sapphire%20Snowflake
Summary: A new disease is starting to spread among young witches and wizards and it is up to Hermione Granger –top research mediwitch of St. Mungo’s – to put a stop to it. Her only clue lies deep within the archives of the Malfoys; however, no one had seen any of them for the past seven years. Well, not until she and Ginny stumbled upon a meaty piece of fashion magazine in Muggle London with Draco Malfoy’s face on it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. No profit is made in posting this story.
> 
> I want to thank my beta, girlslikegirlslikeboys, for giving me constructive criticisms and a kick in the shin when she encounters a cringy part in this story. Lots of love!

_“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”_

_Leonard Cohen_

_Muggle London_

_April 2006_

“Are you sure? Maybe Molly was mistaken?”

Ginny Weasley looked at the distraught witch before her. Her hair was messier than usual, and her healer robes looked like it was run over by a thousand manticores.

“I’m sorry Hermione. You know how it is when there’s a squib in the family. So, it’ll be hard to forget if there’s someone who gets sick and loses his or her magic.” she whispered. She didn’t want to risk anyone hearing them even if they were seated in an isolated table at the corner of a Muggle café.

“Ugh. I know I know. She was my last hope. I just – I don’t know what else to do. I’ve run out of ideas!”

“Shh Hermione. For now, just take a deep breath. Take a well-deserved break.”

“Break?” Hermione screeched incredulously.

“Hey, hey! Calm down. You won’t accomplish anything if your tired and stressed and…” Ginny looked up and down at Hermione to emphasize her next point, “ – bloody awful. When was the last time you took a bath?”

Hermione winced and looked down at herself. “Well, uhhh three days ago.”

“That’s it. Take the rest of the day off and just enjoy a cuppa with me. We’ve lot to catch up, you and me. You’ve bailed out on me for a month”

“I know. I’m so sorry. I just… This whole situation is just so horrible.” Afternoon teas with her became a tradition the moment the redhead noticed that her curly-haired friend stopped taking lunch breaks to drown herself in work. Although Hermione had vehemently denied that the reason for this was her break up with Ron, Ginny thought she was just trying to look strong despite everything. At present, the two of them settled on having their lunch in a quaint tea shop in Muggle London.

“I just want this nightmare to end. I mean, could you imagine having a disease that eats away your magical core?” Hermione rumbled, the tea spilling a little bit as she placed her cup on its saucer roughly.

“I would help you if I could, but you know my expertise lies in Quidditch and the bat boogey hex.” Ginny raised her eyebrows at her before they both burst out laughing.

“Oh Morgana. I missed this.”

“You’re the one who keeps on ditching our afternoon tea time.”

“I can’t take as much breaks as I want, not when I still don’t know what causes this illness.”

Ginny shrugged. She knew that there’s no convincing Hermione when she had decided on something. Besides, Ginny’s attention was caught by a group of teenagers on the table next to them who kept on squealing like banshees in heat.

“Ohhhhhh! Look at those abs.”

“Shite! I can just lost in those sexy silver eyes.”

“OMG! That white blonde hair is totally real. Look at it going down his shorts.”

She turned to her left to hiss and glare at them indiscreetly and came face to face with Draco Malfoy.

She did a double-take.

No, not Draco Malfoy in the flesh. Draco Malfoy in the cover of a Muggle women’s magazine.

“Bloody hell!” she gasped.

“What?” Hermione stopped talking immediately as she followed her line of vision.

“Holy crap! Is that Malfoy?”

* * *

The Malfoys went off the grid a few years after she (and Malfoy, she mentally added) graduated from Hogwarts. It wasn’t exactly off the grid since they were kept under surveillance from time to time by the aurors. However, no news of illegal activity, or any activity that the Prophet deemed interesting was heard about them. She did not even know what Draco Malfoy does for a job. Not until today. After Ginny caused a scene at the tea shop, they scoured the bookstores of Muggle London for any fashion magazines featuring Draco Malfoy.

“And lo and behold. The ferret’s fucking famous amongst Muggles. Charisma and sexy eyes my ass.” Hermione snorted as she read on the magazine she was perusing to discover any secrets Malfoy might have divulged.

“But boy, look at those delicious abs.” Ginny whistled.

“Ginny! You already have Harry.”

“You’re right. You can have Malfoy then. Circe knows how much you need to get laid.”

“Ginny!” she hit the redhead with the magazine.

“Attacking me with his you-know-what now huh, Healer Granger.”

“Oh gods. You’re insufferable. And a pervert.”

“Let’s buy these for future blackmail material.”

“I’m not spending my hard-earned money on Malfoy’s pictures. Go on, I need to hurry back to St. Mungo’s anyway.”

“If you say so, Hermione. I saw you drooling earlier.”

“I was not!”

* * *

 

“What happened here?” Hermione gasped at the mess before her.

“Ed kind of went berserk earlier. We were doing Lumos, and he…” the mediwitch whispered beside her. Both of them looked at the sobbing wizard curled at the corner of the room.

“He couldn’t do it anymore.” Hermione finished. She slowly approached the 16-year old and wrapped her arms around him. “Oh Ed. I’m so sorry.”

“Hermione. I can’t – But I’m just about to graduate from Hogwarts next year!”

“I’m so sorry, Ed. I’m so so sorry.” Hermione could feel tears fall down her face as she hugged Ed, grief for her patients and disappointment at herself for not solving this sooner welling up inside her.

There was a sudden knock and the two mediwitches looked at the door. A mediwitch opened the door and poked her head inside, her lips set in a grim line. “Healer Granger, there’s another patient that just checked in.”

“Oh God.” Hermione could feel another headache coming.

* * *

 

“Helena Abbott.”

“Abbott? As in Abbott of the Sacred Twenty-Eight?”

“Yes, Hermione. A pureblood this time.” the mediwitch confirmed Hermione’s thoughts.

“Merlin and Morgana!” Hermione exclaimed.

“Here’s her chart. I could call her in if you want if you have additional questions.”

“Thank you, Daphne.”

“There was someone before. In our family.” Daphne seated herself gracefully by Hermione’s desk. “I didn’t think it was related.”

“Another case like this?” Hermione could feel her ire rising at the implications of what Daphne is about to tell her.

“Similar, yes.”

Hermione stood up snappishly. “And you’re just telling me now? After five Muggleborn children lost their magic already? Why? Was it because they were Muggleborns that you did not deem fit to share that information to help them? Still think they’re unworthy of their magic?” her tone rised at a level that would usually make their peers scurry away from her wrath. Daphne did not look the least bit fazed.

“I’d calm down if I were you Hermione. “ Daphne looked at the witch who was about to burst in angry tears before her. “She did not totally lose her magic Hermione. All those patients were Muggleborn. I didn’t really think about it until I talked to Helena Abbott. I do hope you’re past judging me at this point. I apologize for my lapse of judgment; however, I haven’t had those sentiments for the past seven years.” Daphne raised her perfect eyebrows at Hermione. “You’re not the only one who wanted to help those kids.”

Hermione slumped on her chair and massaged her temples. “I’m so sorry Daphne. All of this is just stressing me out. This might be the first clue I’ve had since forever.”

“Her name was Lilia Greengrass. I thought she was fictional. My parents love telling Astoria and I about how she almost lost her magic because she was consorting with a muggle.”

“Consorting with a muggle?”

“Yes. She allegedly refused a match and started losing her magic to the point that she could only do simple things such as accio and lumos. But she regained her magical strength when she married Nicholas Malfoy.”

“You’re related to the Malfoys?”

“Is that a rhetoric question or have you lost your brains due to the stress?”

“Apologies. So she just regained her magic just like that? Did she take any medications?”

“I have no idea. As I said I thought it was just a story my blasted parents tell us so we won’t go to the wrong path. And that was why I didn’t really think of telling you.”

“Do you have any family records or something about it?”

“I don’t think so. But some rumors say that it was Nicholas himself who used dark magic on her to persuade her to leave the muggle and marry him instead. If there’s someone who might know or have any records about it, it would be the Malfoys. They’re very proud of their heritage.”

“But I don’t even know where the Malfoys –“ Draco Malfoy’s picture featured on the magazine flashed on her mind. “live at present.” She finished weakly, her cheeks pinking at the memory.

“I’ve only seen Draco when Slytherins go out to drink. He only asked for our help – financially – once when they lost everything from their vaults. He’s very proud, you see. Just like you. He’s very tight-lipped about how he got the galleons to pay me. I never asked so your guess is as good as mine.” Daphne stood up and went to the door. “I’ll search our records to see if there’s any more useful information.”

“Thank you, Daphne.” Hermione waited for her footsteps to fade before she obtained a piece of parchment from her drawer and wrote a letter to Ginny.

_Ginny,_

_I need to borrow all of them._

_Hermione_

_P.S. It’s not what you think it is._

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry Potter will never be mine. Not even in my dreams.

_“We should meet in another life, we should meet in the air, me and you.”_

_Sylvia Plath_

 

_12 Grimmauld Place_

_April 2006_

“Draco. He’s just Draco in all of these. Not Draco Malfoy. Just Draco. And all of these are full of crap.” Hermione gestured at the twelve magazines before her.

“Isn’t that what’s popular nowadays? To give some sort of mystery. Don’t worry, Hermione. We’re only at the twentieth magazine Hermione, in chronological order, just like how you wanted.” Ginny smirked at her. “We still have thirty-two magazines to drool over.”

“Stop making fun of me Ginny. I need to know everything about what Malfoy’s been up to for the past five years.”

“Yup, follow him through his journey from his humble beginnings as a penniless newcomer model into being one of the most coveted bachelors of the 20th century. Boy, does he look hot in this Vogue thing.”

“Focus Ginny! I need to know where he lives.”

“Planning on stalking Malfoy now?”

“Ginny!” She smacked the laughing witch with the magazine in her hand.

“I’m so sorry. You’re so fun to tease especially when you get all red when there’s a naked Malfoy on the spread.”

“Half-naked! He was wearing trousers!”

“Not if you were undressing him with your dirty mind.”

“Enough. Besides, don’t you find it suspicious that they’re totally off the grid and then these children started losing their magic? What if Malfoy is behind all of these? They might want revenge since the Ministry claimed all the contents of their vaults?

“I doubt it. Harry would know if there’s something going on with the Malfoys. He’s the one Narcissa Malfoy and the ferret must report to during their probation. And he’s head Auror so if this is some sort of dark magic, shouldn’t the Aurors know?”

“I did tell them about this but there was no trace of dark magic whatsoever surrounding my patients. Ugh! I’m so frustrated about this case. Maybe it’s a potion or something untraceable that causes the disease? Or an unknown magical creature. I should ask Luna.” Hermione rambled.

“Good luck with that.” Ginny flipped through the other magazines languidly before continuing, “I guess Harry can’t tell you anything about Malfoy, huh. Confidentiality and all that shite.”

Hermione gasped, as Ginny’s words started sinking in. She buried her face in her hands in frustration. “Why haven’t I thought of that?”

Ginny frowned. “Cause you’re dead tired, that’s why. You should get some rest. It’s hard to think if you’re exhausted to your very bones. I’ll wake you up when Harry gets home so you can interrogate him.”

“I hate it when you’re right.” Hermione acceded.

* * *

 

“I’m sorry, I can’t tell you anything.” Harry winced as he saw Hermione’s eyes narrow at his direction.

“And why not Potter?”

“Look, I signed a confidentiality contract. I’ll lose my job if I tell you.”

“And you think your job is worth more than the magic of all those poor kids?”

“Of course not! But I can’t break the contract just because of a hunch Hermione. It’s unprofessional and an abuse of power.”

Hermione gritted her teeth. She knew Harry had a point, but she certainly won’t back down since her patients’ future might depend on this. “Please, Harry. I’m not accusing Malfoy of anything. I just want access to their library, or any records they have. I know the Ministry didn’t take any of their family records. Not those without a trace of dark magic anyways.”

“You did imply that Malfoy might have something to do with it earlier.” Harry raised his eyebrow at Hermione. “Look, I also want those kids to regain their magic too. But my hands are tied. And I honestly don’t think Malfoy’s up to something nefarious… in that regard.” He saw Hermione scrunch her eyebrows at the pause. He quickly added. “I can only tell you that the mocha Frappuccino at _Darcy’s_ was one of the best I’ve ever tasted.”

“What the bloody hell – Oh, Daaarcy’s” Hermione said slowly, catching on the hints Harry was throwing at her. “Do they have a bookstore nearby?”

“No. But there’s a park with an elephant statue right beside it.”

“Thanks Harry! I could kiss you right now but that would be disgusting.” They both laughed as Hermione hugged Harry.

“Course, he’d rather snog Malfoy, you see.” Ginny piped in, a cup of green tea at hand. Hermione threw a pillow at her.

“Okay. Now I’m curious as to what you two have been up to earlier.”

Hermione snapped her neck towards Ginny and mouthed a silent no. Ginny wickedly smirked at her. “Why, ogling Malfoy’s naked pictures in Vogue of course.” Ginny cackled.

* * *

 

After dinner with the Potters wherein both Hermione and Harry suffered from Ginny’s teasing _(‘No Ginny. I don’t want to get lost in the sea that is his abs.’ from a scarlet Hermione and ‘Thanks for giving me bad mental images Gin.’ from a cringing Harry)._ Hermione went home to her apartment in Muggle London to look for the place Harry mentioned. She was in the middle of searching for the café using Google Maps when a snow-white owl pecked at her window. Hermione looked over from her computer.

“What does Ginny want now?” she narrowed her eyes as the owl continued pecking rather brutally at her window. “Okay Hames. I’ll just get some treats for you.” She opened the window and obtained a small parcel from the owl and then afterwards giving him some bacon.

A note was attached to the parcel.

_Hermione,_

_Turn to page 32._

_Ginny_

She opened the parcel only to discover that a Muggle magazine was enclosed inside it. “For god’s sake Ginny.” she muttered exasperatedly. She was about to throw the said magazine in the trash when the note revealed another message.

_Don’t be stubborn, Hermione. His agency was written there._

_P.S. You’re very welcome._

“Bloody Ginny. Why can’t you just tell me what it is.” She angrily ripped the magazine open and turned to page 32 only to be stunned by a two-page spread of Draco Malfoy. Hermione’s eyes quickly read the title. “Draco Malfoy: On Rising from the Ashes” Her eyes flitted to Malfoy’s picture at the leftmost part of page 32. He was wearing an open black button-up turtleneck leather jacket over a fitted grey v-neck shirt and a pair of denim pants. He was biting the upper-left flap of the jacket with a gaze so intense that Hermione felt something warm and fuzzy grow on her belly.

Hermione was a recipient of intense stares from Malfoy in the past, but most of those were filled with resentment and scorn. His gaze at the magazine was as piercing as before, yet it was in a whole new spectrum of emotions that are totally unwelcome for her.

 _“Cognitive dissonance.”_ , she thought, her lips thinning in a line. She flipped a page and there was another picture of Malfoy sitting in a stool and wearing a dark blue wool sweater and black pants. He was wearing a playful smile and his hands were extended out in front of him as if he was talking animatedly to the one taking the picture. He looked so carefree in the picture, a far cry from the broken figure that Hermione can remember when she saw him during his trial.

She turned back to page 32 and read through the entire article. It felt unreal. Draco was officially a ‘heartthrob’, an eye candy of a CEO to Muggle London. “What. a. load. of. crap,” she silently muttered to herself.

Her curiosity overpowered her desire to skim through and just find the information she needed but she knew better that thorough reading was and will always be to her advantage. Disappointingly, the article was pretty much filled with basic hypersexual topics like his ideal woman and ideal date, ‘sex or chocolates’, and ‘boxers or briefs’. In short, just crappy information she didn’t need to know. It was all those before they got to the point where they finally asked him about his ‘humble’ beginnings.

_Draco might be young and one of the most sought-after bachelors of the country but unlike any other prince or CEO, he came from humble beginnings and had to hustle hard to get to where he is now._

_“I didn’t inherit Belle_ _Âme. Before it amazingly grew to become what it is now, I had to learn everything from scratch. I didn’t have much when I started and worked every odd job you could possibly think of.”_

 _It is no secret that we first knew of this humble and wonderful man as the break-out model_ _of Paule Smithe in the year 2000. When asked about his experience in the modeling industry, he mused that he was shockingly surprised that he got an offer from Paule Smithe himself._

_“Paule came up to me in a bar I was working in. At that time, I was almost out of money and couldn’t take any more jobs as I already had 3 or 4 jobs at the time. He, well in my perspective, was trying to pick me up but really that was just his way of recruiting me. And the rest, as they say, is history.”_

_He admitted that it was the one photo that truly changed his life, or rather; it saved him and made him continue moving forward. After such, he got offers from high fashion magazines and eventually became a runway model for top brands. Years later, Draco decided he wanted to build his own agency, a feat considered to be a risk for many._

_“I was hesitant at first since I was going to go at it alone. No partners, no investors. Just me. But my mother told me I shouldn’t be afraid. I was never one to confidently take on risks especially when the money I was going to spend was from all the hard work I did for the past three years.”_

_Now, Belle_ _Âme is a multi-million-pound advertising agency and is currently in the top 10 advertising agencies in London together with Eve & Adam DDB. Draco has also recently become part of ’30 under 30’. _

“Well, that was…was that really Malfoy?” Hermione whispered to herself as she put down the magazine. She was in a daze and felt a little guilty for accusing him earlier, but she knew she still had to investigate. Taking out her quill and a parchment, she wrote down the agency’s address and headed out of her apartment. 

* * *

 

Hermione entered the building into a posh lobby, trying not to look as nervous as she really is.

Seeing the receptionist to her left, she breathed deeply and pasted a bright, albeit fake smile. “Hullo. I’m Hermione Granger, a former classmate of Draco Malfoy. I was wondering if you could tell me where his –”

“No.” The receptionist replied without looking up from her computer.

“Excuse me?”

“Mr. Malfoy is a very busy man. You’re not the first fan to pretend to be his… whatever just to try and see him.”

“I’m not a fan!” Hermione spluttered.

The receptionist looked up at her, her eyes going from Hermione’s hair down to her clothes and then back to her face. Without breaking eye contact, she picked up the telephone’s receiver and pressed a button. “Security? A fan’s causing trouble here.”

“I’m not causing trouble! I’m seriously here to see my, my friend Draco Malfoy!” she flushed at the word friends. _‘It couldn’t be further from the truth.’_ she thought.

“Uhuh.” The receptionist sounded unconvinced.

Hermione was just to about to spout more lies when a pair of hands grabbed her arm. “Miss, let me escort you outside.” A tall security guard looked intimidatingly at her and started dragging her by the arm away from the reception area.

“Wait! I can see myself out. Ouch! You don’t have to manhandle me!” Hermione yelped and twisted herself free, only to slip and falls on the marbled floor from the force exerted by the burly man.

Hands and knees on the concrete floor, a pair of nicely-polished dress shoes she oddly recognizes glares at her. The owner of said shoes knelt in front of her.

“Miss, are you alright?”

“Hullo Malfoy.” Hermione felt like dying in shame. It was Draco Malfoy, in the flesh, donning a black suit jacket over a baby blue button up shirt that had its first two buttons opened, and a pair of shoes made with soft goatskin with diamond and gold buckle. His very aura evoked masculinity and luxury. She suddenly felt very underdressed.

“Fancy seeing you here Granger.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to girlslikegirlslikeboys who's been a wonderfully strict beta and who wrote the Draco interview part in this chapter.
> 
> The pictures in the magazine interview described here are based from some pictures of Tom Felton I found online.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter series. This was written for fun only.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! I never would've thought that I'd receive any feedback this early on. You guys are the best.  
> Shoutout to my beta [girlslikegirlslikeboys](https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlslikegirlslikeboys/pseuds/girlslikegirlslikeboys). Also, english is not my first language so I apologize if the chapters are not British enough. :P

_“Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”_

_C.G. Jung_

_Belle_ _Âme Building_

_April 2006_

To say that Draco was shocked was an understatement.

He had just entered the building when he noticed the security guard hounding a curly-haired woman dressed in a black business suit who was gesturing quite a bit at the receptionist. Something felt vaguely familiar with the woman. Wanting to see what it was about, he approached them only to see the woman pull her hand away and slip to the floor in recoil. His gentlemanly instincts kicked in.

He knelt in front of the woman and offered his hand, “Miss, are you alright?”

The said woman looked at him, her eyes going wide in surprise and embarrassment - Draco noticed - and squeaked, “Hullo Malfoy.”.

Her brown eyes were warm, and she looked flush. He felt his hands start to get clammy and there was a tingling sensation in his stomach. It has been years since he had last seen the brunette witch and albeit it’s not an unpleasant surprise, it still unsettled him gravely. His stomach clenched with a realization.

He’s still attracted to her after all these years.

A million questions suddenly buzzed across his mind; however, being in Slytherin and working as a model for so long, he was able to school his features to hide his alarm and bewilderment. “Fancy seeing you here Granger.” He pulled her up to her feet. She dusted some imaginary dust on her pants to hide her discomfort, Draco surmised.

“I’m so sorry Mr. Malfoy. I didn’t know she was your acquaintance. She didn’t have an appointment.”, the receptionist apologized.

“No worries Linette. You’re just doing your job.” Draco smiled at her and saw Hermione scowling at Linette from his peripheral vision. “I’ll take it from here. Thanks.”, he gestured at both Linette and the security guard. Turning back to Hermione, he placed his hand on the curve of Hermione’s back and led her to the elevator. She flinched slightly at the contact but did not pull away. After inserting his pass in the slot by the elevator buttons, he leaned by the elevator wall and stared at Hermione. She looked tense and her eyes kept fidgeting between him and the numbers above the elevator door. Her lips were pursed into a thin line and she kept on softly tapping her left foot on the floor. Although her curls have tamed to a more manageable one, they still looked a bit frizzy and cackling with nervous energy. She was wearing no make up nor any jewelry and still, Draco found her pretty.

A few minutes ticked by before Hermione noticed that they were going further up the building and had just passed the 18th floor. “Where are you taking me?” He could hear the slightly panicked tone of her voice as she asked this.

“My penthouse?”

“Why are you taking me there?” Hermione turned fully towards him and he noticed her eyeing the buttons of the elevator as if contemplating her escape. He suddenly felt playful despite the anxiety he was feeling earlier due to her unexpected visit. He slowly inched towards her with a smirk.

Hermione took one step back as he took another forward towards her until she felt the elevator wall behind her and only an inch of air separated the two of them. He looked into his eyes and breathed, “Why indeed?”

The elevator doors opened with a beep and Draco took a step back.

“Welcome to my humble abode and office Hermione Granger. Ministry business, I presume?” He did not wait for her reply and walked out of the elevator, down a small flight of stairs and into a very spacious and minimalist room.

Hermione followed for a bit and looked around in distrust. “This doesn’t look like an office Malfoy.”

“True. Never liked stuffy and boring offices and conference rooms, you see. It limits people’s creativity. Very bad for business.”

Hermione sat on the side of the couch nearest to the elevator and continued perusing the room. The white velvet couch she was seating on was very soft and could seat five other people. A low glass table separated it from two matching single-seat couches. She looked down at the table to see various fashion magazines neatly stacked in two rows. She looked up to see another floor within the room, one she presumed to be his living quarters. The floor she was in was surrounded by windows overlooking a great view of the city. There was a blinking light on the window. When she turned around, it was an LCD projector. _‘So this has really been used as a meeting area.’_ Her musings were interrupted by Draco.

“Do you want some coffee or tea?”

Hermione fingered the toadstone ring on her right ring finger and replied, “Tea, please.”

“No need to worry about getting poisoned. I wouldn’t dare attempt it to a member of the Golden Trio especially if you’re here on Ministry business.”

“I was not worried.”

“Says the woman who’s currently wearing a toadstone ring for poison detection.”

“So if I’m not sent by the Ministry you would?”

“I’ve nothing to gain from your death.” He set the teacups on the table and seated himself opposite from her. “It's assam tea. Why are you here?”

Hermione mulled her options and decided to go with the plan she concocted last night. _‘Don’t lie but leave most of the details out.’_ She added a dash of milk to her tea. “I need access to your family’s library.”

“And why is that?”

“I’ve looked everywhere, but I couldn’t find what I need for my research. Your family _once_ owned a potion’s business, yes?” His face betrayed nothing when she said those words.

“True. But we don’t have a library anymore, Granger.”, he replied coolly, calculatingly.

Hermione’s eyebrow raised imperceptibly, doubting his words. “They only took the ones exuding with dark magic. The rest are in your vaults in Gringotts.”

“What exactly are you looking for?

“A potion. A cure. Any clue that might lead to it.” At his silence, she changed tactics, “I’m not a Ministry worker. I’m a healer. And I need your help.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay as in yes. I’ll give you access to my books.”, he paused and studied her, “my family’s records.” To the untrained eye, the change in Hermione’s demeanor would totally be indiscernible; however, he’s been a businessman for so long, and a born Slytherin to boot so it was easy for him to notice her slight anticipation as he mentioned his family’s records. She was omitting her real intention and he was curious as to why his family records would be useful to her if she's looking for a cure to a disease. The things that he could ask in return for her unlimited access entered his mind. She looked desperate enough since she actually sought him out in the muggle world. 

“Thank you for your cooperation, I suppose.” She stood to leave.

“Why leave so soon? I haven’t told you my condition in return for my compliance.”

Hermione internally screamed. _‘Of course, he wanted some form of compensation.’_ , she angrily thought. She turned to face him. “And what would that be?”

“Have dinner with me.”, he simply said while looking straight into her eyes and leaned back comfortably on his couch.

“What?”, she blanched. Of all the nefarious things she expected him to ask from her, she never expected this.

“No?”

“Why?”

“Why not?”

“It doesn’t sound appalling enough.”, she blurted out and narrowed her eyes. “I’m not one of those insipid women drooling over your magazine photo.”

“Shame.”, he teased.

Hermione only looked more bemused and suspicious at his playful behavior. “I’m leaving.”

“Do we have a deal or not?”

“Fine.”

“Dinner every night I desire until you’ve exhausted yourself from perusing my books and records.”

“What do you really want from me?”, she hissed.

“And here I thought you’re the brightest witch of our age.”

Hermione only tapped her foot in response.

“Look around you. What do you see?”

“A git who thinks his antics are amusing.”

He quirked his eyebrow at her. “Careful Granger, I might actually be offended by that remark. You’re the one asking for a favor.”

“Expensive stuff.”, she relented. _‘Think about your patients, Hermione.’_ , her mind chanted.

“And?”

“Windows. Kitchen. A bloody LCD projector.”

“Doesn’t look like a wizard’s house, hmm?”, he asked. Seeing her impatient expression, he continued. “I have a business I could call my own and money to once again fill the Malfoy’s vaults without the Ministry seizing it since it didn’t come from any illegal means. But I'm a wizard and even if it's been years since the war, I could not even set a single foot to the wizarding world without someone attempting to hex me. You, my dear Granger, will help me bring back my family’s legacy, one dinner at a time.”

“And what if I refuse?”

“Then the deal is off.”

Hermione gritted her teeth.

“What’s so wrong with having dinner with me?”, Draco cocked his head to one side.

“I don’t trust you.”

“If it makes you feel better, we could draw a contract of do’s and don’ts. Come, sit.”, he gestured to where Hermione was seating previously.

“I feel like I’m making a deal with the devil.”

“What are you on about? I’ve been forthcoming on my intentions. You have not. Did I push you into revealing them?”

She scowled but sat down again. “Very well. No touching, I pick the place and only on my day offs.”

"I can't touch you inappropriately." at seeing Hermione's disgruntled expression, he said, "What, you can't expect me not to do some hand-holding or a feather-light touch to the small of your back on a date."

She flushed at the imagery he presented. "But it's not-"

Draco cut her off, "I'm not asking you to be my girlfriend, or even pretend to be one. Just dinners to show everyone that I'm not the same arrogant, spiny coward I was when I was younger. That I've redeemed myself."

"And have you?"

"Only one way to find out." He winked.

“You’re insufferable. I want everything in writing.”

“Not expecting any less from you.” He summoned a piece of parchment and a Muggle pen. "No touching inappropriately - I'll be a perfect gentleman, promise. To compromise, we can alternate on picking the venue. It should be in a public, non-shady part of Magical world when both of us have no prior engagements - meaning Granger, you can't suddenly concoct an excuse to bail out on me."

"No hexes or curses."

"Why Granger, I never knew your dates are awfully exciting." There was a distinct twinkle in his eyes that Granger found unnerving.

"No kissing. And it's not a date."

"Not even if we both consented?"

"No kissing. Period"

“Sure.”, he drawled.

“And what are you implying?” Hermione could feel her cheeks heating up in annoyance.

“Nothing." His grinned at her and Hermione flushed. "Moving on, we can't tell lies, but lying by omission is accepted.”

 “And how would that work?”

“Simple. If you don’t want to tell me anything, you just zip your pretty mouth shut.” His gaze travelled to her lips. “But if you actually tell me something, anything, it can only be the truth, and nothing but the truth. Same goes for me.”

She pondered on the last clause. With this, she had the assurance that Draco would not – could not – lie to her. But there are a lot of things that she did not want to reveal to Draco, so it helps that she’ll be able to keep it to herself if she chooses to. Deciding that it’s completely fair to both parties, she nodded her head in agreement.

“Any more things you want to add to this, Granger?”

“If any of us breaks a rule, he or she’ll get a jolt of shock for reminder that increases in intensity as more rules get broken. And the time frame for this is until I’m done looking at your family’s records.”

“Nice doing business with you, Hermione Granger.”

* * *

 

_Gringotts Wizarding Bank_

_April 2006_

Hermione apparated to Gringotts at exactly three in the afternoon. She looked around and saw Draco leaning on one of the pillars of Gringotts. She frowned, feeling a bit disappointed that he was on time but realized suddenly how childish that thought is. She approached him and noticed that apart from his disgruntled face, he looked a wee bit different. “You colored your hair.” She stared at his dark blond hair.

“I’m not comfortable with flaunting my presence without a shield to cover me from hexes.”

“And I suppose I’m the shield you’re talking about?”

“Nice of you to catch up, Granger. Does it suit me?”

She only scowled at him.

“That’s a yes then. You could have said no unless… it’s a lie.” He smirked triumphantly.

“Stop flirting with me.“

“Am I?”

She scowled some more.

“Come on. Lots of things to do.”, his hand held her elbow and steered her to the entrance to Gringotts. Once they were inside, he let go and approached one of the goblins who led them to the Malfoy vaults.

When the door opened with a flick of Draco’s wand, Hermione was astounded to see rows of books neatly stacked on shelves. She peaked to her left and moved towards an ornate wooden cabinet with tons of drawers. Upon closer look, she noticed several numbers engraved on each drawer.

“Don’t touch anything Granger. Not yet.”

“Is this vault charmed like Bellatrix’s?”

“Close.” He swished his wand and muttered some spell that Hermione can’t quite hear. “I’ve removed the wards now although you can’t use any magic while you’re in here. What exactly are you looking for anyway?”

Hermione’s mouth pressed into a thin line and shook her head.

“I only offered because it’ll be faster if there’s two of us looking. Although it won’t exactly hurt me if this deal went on longer.”, he shrugged and turned to find a book to read while waiting.

Hermione sighed. Draco had a point; however, she couldn’t risk letting him know about the strange disease that was eating away at her patients’ magical core. Not until she deemed him trustworthy of the information, she decided.

Nicholas Malfoy flourished around the year of 1340s and exhibited his disdain towards Muggles by using the Black death as an excuse for their unfortunate deaths. Hermione thought it would be a good start to look at anything related to Nicholas Malfoy, seeing as it was her only lead thus far.

At half-past seven in the evening, Draco decided that it was time for dinner. He found Hermione carrying two huge tomes in one arm and trying to return one at a high shelf.

* * *

 

Hermione felt a hand enclose the spine of the tome right above her hand. She immediately let go of the tome and shifted from standing to her tiptoes to her heels as she exhaled an edgy breath. The hand slowly pushed the tome into its home and she could feel heat radiate from his body that was mere millimeters away from her. Her heartbeat quicken in staccatos. She slowly turned her head to face him only to be entranced by the intense look in his silver eyes. She had never been this close with Draco before.

“Famished?”, he murmured in a low, silky tone.

“Huh?”

“Our dinner reservation starts at eight.” He stepped back from her.

It took her two seconds to regain her bearings. “I’m not done yet.”

“Tough. I’m hungry. We had a deal.”

“Can I take these home?”, she gestured to the tomes she was holding.

“Unless that home you’re talking about is my penthouse then no.”

“What, no! Of course not. You’re a prat.”

Draco laughed.

They entered a low-key restaurant a few blocks from Gringotts. Hermione looked around but said nothing. None spoke even as the entrée was served until _La Vie en Rose_ played on the air. “Do you speak French Granger?”

Hermione contemplated on whether to answer or ignore him, choosing the former seeing that he was decent enough to her the entire day. “A little bit. We… my parents and I went to France one summer and I deemed it appropriate to learn the basics.”

“Of course you would.” He was amused by the annoyed expression on her face. “You should learn to take a compliment.”

“It didn’t sound like one.”

“Nothing would sound like a compliment to you if it came from me.”, he pointed out as he drank his _Cabernet Sauvignon_.

“Can you blame me though?” Hermione stabbed her fork onto the chicken.

Draco flashed a playful smile and Hermione couldn’t help but stare at the unfamiliarity of it all. “True. I was a right git when we were younger, yeah?”

Hermione had established that Malfoy was different from his younger counterpart from their brief interactions so far. However, she had not expected his change to be so far as to admit that he was a contemptible person in his youth. She wondered what had brought this change. “What happened to you?”, she asked in the tone that tells that she’s not comfortable with the unknown.

“Excuse me?”

“Why are you so pleasant? To me of all people?”

“Well I would like to think that I grew up and became a better person.”

“It is disconcerting.”

“Would you rather spend this evening, and all the succeeding ones with me being a nasty dinner companion?”, he quirked his eyebrow at her.

“Well, no. Not really. But it’s bizarre. I feel like it’s all a trick and I’ll one day fall for the trap when I let my guard down.”, Hermione admitted.

Draco studied the witch before her before replying, “We agreed to tell no lies.”

“I know that. Can you just tone down your new personality a little bit? It’s bloody confusing.”

“But I can tell no lies! That includes admitting that you look pretty tonight.”, he teased, knowing that Hermione will feel more unnerved.

“You’re a git.”, she bit back but still felt warm inside. “Fine, fine. You’ve changed. A bit. Why are you asking me about French anyway?”

“ _La vie en Rose_ was playing and I thought it might break the ice. I was ”, he shrugged.

“It’s a beautiful song.”

“Heard it in one of my photoshoots in France. My second photoshoot was in Paris. Paule – he was the one that gave me the modeling job – thought that I haven’t been outside London you see and decided to give me a tour. I’ve been to France, of course. We had a summer villa there before the war but I’ve never been to Muggle Paris. We went to the Eiffel Tower, the Sacré-Cœur Basilica and the Louvre. Whatever perplexity you’re feeling right now was what I was feeling at that time. How were muggles able to build those grand structures without magic, I thought? It baffled me a lot. Made me feel stupid for my ignorance. It was fun.”

“Muggles have to make up the lack of magic with ingenuity and an intense curiousity to learn and discover.”

“Mmmm. Magic plus a penchant for ingenuity and intense curiosity. Perhaps that’s why a muggle-born became the brightest witch of our age.”, he looked straight into her eyes, a small smile playing on his lips.

Hermione, a bit taken a back by the intensity, looked down on her food and replied, “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any of the Harry Potter franchise.
> 
> Belated happy birthday Draco!!! And thanks to all of you lovelies who have taken the time to read this.

_“You have to die a few times first, till you can really live.”_

_Charles Bukowski_

 

_June 2006_

 “Oh for Circe’s sake! I can’t take it anymore. Spill!” Ginny squealed.

Hermione was expecting Ginny’s interrogation the moment she stepped out of Grimmauld’s fireplace. She sighed, “I thought I was here for you to feed me, not to siphon information from me.”

“Imagine my surprise when I saw you and Malfoy’s picture on the front page of the Daily Prophet. Why did you not tell me that you are seeing Malfoy?”

“Oh please. I was not seeing Malfoy. We were just having dinner.”

“Dinner, huh.” A copy of the Daily Prophet zoomed towards Ginny’s hands. “You look awfully cozy here.”

“Would you rather let me suffer through dinner with Malfoy?”

“Of course not. It’s just sad that I have to discover this through the Daily Prophet.”, Ginny pouted.

“Cause I know you’re gonna tease me about it. Besides, it was the price to pay for getting access to their books.”

While eating dinner, Hermione told the redhead everything she wanted to know. She left out details regarding the contract she signed with Draco. Ginny was aghast at discovering that the featured dinner in the Daily Prophet was actually the third one already and Hermione did not tell her a single thing before that. Bringing their tea to the living room, Hermione also shared her frustration at not having progress with her research regarding the new disease they were dealing with at St. Mungo’s.

“The magical core gets exhausted and the patient loses his or her magic after six months. I was only able to formulate a potion that when taken every day would extend it from six months to a year. Ed was the first patient.” Hermione heaved a heavy sigh and stretched herself flat to the back of the sofa. “I need to get to those vaults again. Soon. Three times are not enough to scourge through everything.”

“So send an owl to Malfoy again.” Ginny sipped her decaffeinated tea slowly and refrained from further teasing Hermione when she saw how stressed her friend was. _‘Oh well, if I have more chances in the future.’_ , she thought.

“I would if I could, but I can’t contact him! My owl can’t find him and when I went there, it looked like he just arrived from a trip and was about to go to another one.” Hermione remembered his very worn appearance when she surged into his office and badgered him for another day of access.

_But Malfoy! There are patients’ futures on the line! Why can’t I just go there alone?_

_Because you’re going to get swallowed by our vault. I have my own life Granger. These are the people who gave me a chance before you lot gave me one, reluctantly even._

“Nothing you can do at this point but wait. How did people in St. Mungo’s react anyway? Harry just frowned at the article, sighed, and said, ‘Ginny, Hermione’s under a lot of pressure right now so please avoid barging into her office for this.’” Ginny impersonated Harry’s voice.

“I was actually dreading your imminent visit. I should thank Harry for that. You’re an awful gossip.”, Hermione teased.

“You can’t blame a pregnant woman for wanting some excitement in her life. But I demand information the next time.”

“No. I bet you’re going to follow us and pretend that it’s one huge coincidence.”, Hermione rolled her eyes at Ginny. She threw a pillow at her in reply.

* * *

 

It was two weeks later that Draco contacted her. An owl dropped a parchment at her office table with only the date and time written on it on cursive handwriting. She hastily packed her bag during that Friday afternoon with a box of muggle pen and notebook and apparated to Gringotts.

She saw Draco outside, siphoning some kind of liquid from his baby blue jumper.

“What happened?”

“Just my demons chasing after me.”

“Wait, what’s that smell? Did someone throw rotten eggs on you?”

“Nothing I can’t handle.” He murmured another spell that instantly freshened the air around them.

They were seated on the floor of the Malfoys’ vault when Hermione brought up the subject again. “Who was it?”

“Who was who?”, Draco replied without looking up from the folder of documents he was perusing.

“The one who threw stuff at you. Is it anyone you knew?”

“It was nothing of consequence.”

“But don’t you think it’s unfair? It’s been years since the war and you haven’t done anything wrong for years.”

He put his fountain pen down and looked at her. “From what I remember, you weren’t exactly jumping in joy at the prospect of having dinner with this death eater.”

“Past death eater.”, she sniffed. “I was hesitant because you were a right git to me directly at school. It has nothing to do with you being… that.”

Draco smiled wistfully before going back to his work. “I was fully expecting that, you see. I don’t know who she was, but I thought, what if that woman lost her husband, or her child on the hands of a death eater? I could easily scourgify whatever she threw at me. But she won’t be able to get whatever she lost back.”

Hermione was taken aback at his response and fell silent. The Draco before her is totally different from what she was used to, but she’s slowly growing accustomed to this version of him. She just hopes that it’s the real deal.

“In any case, your presence did help placate the masses. Most of them just looked at me like I’m some exotic animal. Or some hot commodity.”

“Still arrogant though.”

“One witch approached me and told me – and I quote - to take good care of you, seeing as some other redhead refused to. What does she mean Granger?”, he waggled his eyebrows at her.

She would’ve laughed at the comical display if not for the fact that the topic of her relationship with Ron Weasley is still a sore topic to her despite it ending years ago. “It’s none of your business. What did you reply to her anyway?”

“That you always deserve the best. Which is me – ow woman! Stop kicking me.” Draco scowled from where he was seating. “Where are you going?”, he asked as Hermione picked the tomes strewn before her.

“Away from your idiocy.”

Dinner after that started with no one saying anything, mainly due to Hermione being in deep thought about what she had read regarding Nicholas Malfoy. She learned that he was pureblood supremacist with a great revulsion towards muggles. He was also a magizoologist and herbologist at the same time and uses his knowledge for nefarious things such as killing off muggles. So far, she hasn’t found any document or book detailing his methods. She guessed that the Ministry had already deemed those inappropriate and burned them to crisp. _‘Maybe I should screen through all the books in there?’_ , she cringed at the thought. There were probably thousands of books and records there and she doesn’t have the luxury of time.

She couldn’t wait to go there again. “Hey Malfoy. When are you free again?”

“I’m not sure. I have a presentation coming up next week. It depends on how fast my team prepares for that.”

“Why can’t my owls reach you? It’s so hard to contact you.”

“I blocked all of them. Imagine what my clients’ reactions would be if an owl suddenly swoops into my office during a meeting and drops a roll of parchment. Besides, the penthouse doesn’t really have any windows. Just give me your number. You do have a muggle phone right?” Draco queried before fishing through his pocket and handed his cellular phone to Hermione after pressing some keys.

She stared at the phone on his outstretched hand for a few seconds before taking it and inputting her phone number. Still full of curiosity, she pressed the home button when she was done and peeked at his wallpaper. It was a picture of him and his mother, both dressed in muggle formal wear. Narcissa Malfoy was dressed in midnight blue peplum lace evening gown while Draco wore a gabardine suit of matching color. He was holding something like a plaque and both were wearing big smiles.

“Snooping at my phone, Granger?”

“No! I –“

Draco grinned, “It’s fine. I don’t have any incriminating messages or photos. I’ll even give you permission to look.”

Hermione hastily gave his phone back so he wouldn’t think that she’s interested. “No, thanks. I was just on autopilot.” She drank a swig of her champagne to settle her fidgeting hands. “Your mother looks very comfortable while wearing muggle clothing.”, she couldn’t help but mention.

“She was a little uncomfortable at first, to be honest with you. But she insisted on coming knowing how important it was to me. It was the first award I acquired. She went on and on about how proud she was of my achievement and how I shouldn’t be embarrassed that I was working with muggles.”

“Were you?”

“No. It was a perfectly respectable job. Enough about me. How about you? I thought you’d be the Minister by now and you’d be busy vomiting hundreds of laws about the betterment of the less fortunate.”

“That’s technically what I am doing right now but instead of laws, I mainly research on potions and spells for treatment of people with rare or new magical maladies. It’s more… interesting I should say, than negotiating and dealing with all the red tape in the ministry.”

“I quite agree. Although in my line of work, I’m quite familiar with the nuisance of being pleasant towards people to whom I’d rather not be.”

Hermione only smiled lightly and continued eating her salad. So far, all the dinners with Draco were pleasant. A quarter of the time was usually spent in silence but despite that, she did not feel pressured to make any type of small talk. It was comforting, and she spent most of it organizing the details she had read earlier in her mind.

The waiter approached their table and handed a folded parchment to Hermione. Upon reading it, she hastily grabbed her bag and excused herself, “I have to go back to St. Mungo’s. Thanks for dinner.”

* * *

 

Draco looked at the leather-bound records before him. Most of them were in no way reference books. He had discreetly put a tracking spell over everything in the Malfoy vaults to identify which ones Hermione was perusing. Hermione would be absolutely livid if she discovered this; however, he would be lying if he said that he’s not interested in what she was searching frantically for. Her desperation was very evident by the unshed angry tears on her brown eyes whenever he turned down her request for a research session when he’s swamped with work. He almost relented and called his secretary to reschedule – almost – but then he kept on reminding himself of his priorities and responsibilities, so he declined, despite enjoying each and every time he spent with her.

And oh how he relished every single visit to Gringotts and every dinner they’ve gone to. Sure, most of those were spent in silence with only scratching on parchment and rustling of papers and tarpaulin posters. His days at his company and at various photoshoots are filled with busy clamor, conversations and sometimes screams from his fans and admirers. He enjoyed those too since it’s a proof of his accomplishments in life, but the silence was a welcomed relief too.

He couldn’t help watching Hermione inconspicuously, while pretending to be deeply immersed in evaluating the various advertisement proposals. She mostly wears simple and sensible clothing composed of black or charcoal dress pants, three-fourths blouses and light make-up. Her hair was always in a loose braid or tied up away from her face. She was not stunningly beautiful, as most of the models and actresses he had met in his line of work. Her beauty was the subtle kind, the one that creeps up on you after a long time of acquaintance that makes you want to look again and look longer than necessary.

His musings went back to the tomes before him. Most of these were about the different Malfoy patriarchs and the things they’ve done and accomplished in their lifetime – from the different businesses they managed to the different political ventures they joined with the other pureblood families.

_‘Is she investigating our ancestry?”_

He noticed something else from his sleuthing. More than half of the tomes and records contained something about Nicholas Malfoy.

_‘Curious.’_

* * *

 

Hermione stared at the three files before her. She was given this case five months ago, lost five muggle-born witches and wizards, and diagnosed three new cases just this night. There were now a total of seven patients diagnosed with the disease and the only thing she discovered was a magic-replenishing potion that was not enough to stop the disease from progressing.

A knock disturbed her thoughts and two heads poked inside her office. “Hi ‘Mione, we hope you aren’t busy.”

“No, not as of the moment.” She shook her head and burst into tears. “Fuck!”

Harry and Ginny rushed to her side. “What’s wrong Hermione?”

“I haven’t got anything. I can’t bloody stop it and I’m about to lose them all!”

“Oh Hermione.”, Ginny rubbed her friend’s back. “I’m so sorry. What can we do to help you?”

“Why don’t you tell us everything. Maybe talking it out loud would give you a new perspective and fresh ideas.” Harry added.

Hermione told every single fact she had come across about Nicholas Malfoy and anything she thought had some sort of connection to her case. She also told them of how it feels like her life is on a ticking time bomb, how big the Malfoy written collection is and the difficulty in knowing where to actually start when one trail grew cold.

Harry looked pensive for a little while before asking her, “Did you try asking Malfoy about it?”

“I- I didn’t really think that was a good idea,” Hermione’s lips quivered a bit as she continued. “I’ve thought of it Harry, but I got scared.”

“I hate to break it to you Hermione. But I think you’ve got no choice at this point.”, Ginny remarked.

* * *

 

Draco had told her last week that he would not be available for the next few days since he had several meetings lined up with each of his company’s departments about a latest project offered to them by a client. Last night she sent a text message to Draco to ask him if they could talk even for just a little while at a time and place of his convenience and he acquiesced to a meeting at his penthouse at eight in the evening. She arrived at Belle Âme with ten minutes to spare and walked through the elevator.

Hermione took a deep breath as the elevator opened before her. The couches in their previous meeting were moved a foot away from where they were located previously. A big white screen was in the middle of the sitting room, right in front of the clear windows overlooking the city, and the LCD projector was showing a video advertisement on it. Draco was standing right in front of it, his hands tucked in his black suit trousers. The sleeves of his white dress shirt were rolled up and Hermione could faintly glimpse a part of the Dark Mark on his left arm despite the dim lights of the room. He looked very imposing, aristocratic and virile.

Hermione could feel a lump forming on her throat. She couldn’t take her eyes off the scene before him. It was breathtaking. He was breathtaking. She was distracted.

And then he slowly turned around, his piercing silver eyes falling into her face, her own eyes settling on the base of his throat, over the skin exposed since the top two buttons of his shirt was opened and to his striped-blue tie loosely hanging around his neck.

She was very distracted.

“What can I help you with Granger?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's short. But I wanted to post before Draco's birthday ends and the chapter I had in mind should've been longer than this. I'm still a day late though. I suck.
> 
> Shout out to [girlslikegirlslikeboys](https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlslikegirlslikeboys/pseuds/girlslikegirlslikeboys) for being a wonderful beta who I did not listen to in this chapter. orz


End file.
